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[ (Side Story) How can I punish you? ]
“Wendy!”
Lily grabbed the leg of her pants, threw away her saggy body, and ran to Wendy.
Pow!
A hug so intense that it almost felt like a body slam.
“I miss you!”
“Ugh! hey!”
Wendy, who stumbled so hard that she felt like she was going to fall, managed to regain her balance and gently stroked the back of Lily’s head as she clung to her.
If other people who knew Wendy had seen that, they would have been shocked.
The face of the girl who was famous for being as cold as ice had a warm smile that they had never seen before.
“how have you been doing? “It’s been almost half a year.”
“I don’t even come to the restaurant often!”
“sorry. “I wanted to go, but I was busy with family matters.”
“Are you very busy on the Gaia continent?”
“huh. Since I recently returned, there’s a lot to take care of… but it’s roughly sorted out now. So, I came here to take the exam.”
“Great! “Now if we go to school together, we can meet again!”
The two girls, who hadn’t seen each other for a long time, chatted a lot about stories that only they knew.
So Shin-han, who could not find the right moment to join in on the conversation, looked at the two girls from an awkward distance and thought.
‘Is he the friend Lily was talking about?’
For the past three days since the entrance exams began, or even a few days before the exams began, Lily has been excited about meeting her friends at WHA.
I feel sorry for the two boys who are probably looking for Lily all over the island at this very moment, but the name Lily mentioned the most was Wendy.
‘Wendy is my best friend!’
‘We are now on the Gaia continent. Wendy was originally a noblewoman, but her parents…’
‘But she lost her memory and the three of us lived together in our house for a while. Hehehe. At that time, he called you dad and I called you sister.’
‘Would you like me to show you a picture of Wendy?’
The Wendy I saw in the photo looked a little younger than she is now and was a child looking up at the camera with innocent eyes.
On the other hand, the girl here had a very adult expression.
‘The face is almost the same, but the atmosphere can be so different…’
While Soshinhan was puzzled by the discrepancy, Wendy turned around and smiled.
“sorry. I’m so happy to see a friend I haven’t seen in a long time. “This is Wendy Rainstorm.”
Then, he bowed slightly in an elegant manner, and Soshinhan, who was taken aback by the natural aristocratic etiquette, bowed without realizing it and responded with a respectful tone.
“It’s okay. My name is Sosinhan. “I work as a waiter at Lim’s Restaurant.”
“I heard a lot of stories. “Lily, you help me a lot with my studies.”
“Haha, it’s no big deal… I’m rather indebted to you.”
From hair color to speech and behavior, Lily and Wendy were opposites in almost every way.
Lily was cute and pretty, but it seemed like this little girl would become a great beauty in just a few years.
…Maybe this is more my type.
“Keuhumhum! sorry!”
“yes? What?”
“it’s nothing! I will never think like that again! “I am the one who will kill you!”
“…?”
Soshinhan, overcome with guilt, lowered his head as if he was about to hit the floor, and Wendy tilted her head to look at him and said, “Ah!” And then he looked back.
“Say hello to Gerold too.”
“…….”
The middle-aged knight who had been waiting like a shadow behind Wendy as if he was not there until then stepped forward. He introduced himself briefly.
“This is Knight Gerold. “I am serving the head of the family.”
‘Matriarch? ‘Are you talking to Wendy?’
The knight with thick eyebrows had a very quiet appearance. He only said hello briefly and then went back to stand behind Wendy.
Soshinhan was very impressed by Gerold’s appearance like that.
‘This is my first time seeing a candidate older than me.’
WHA accepted applicants regardless of race and age, but due to the nature of the academy, the number of young students was overwhelmingly high.
In reality, most human applicants were teenagers, and less than 20% were in their 20s or older.
‘Adults with a higher reputation and status tend to be reluctant to apply, even if it’s just for the sake of respect.’
However, Knight Gerold appeared to be at least in his 40s. I didn’t even know that I might be the oldest test taker here.
‘Anyway, it’s a good thing for us.’
After meeting the two people, So Shinhan’s expression became much brighter.
“There are only four people. “With this, I can enter that cave.”
[You must be in a party of at least 4 people to enter.]
When they arrived, the cave that looked like a devil with its mouth open could only be entered by a party of at least 4 people.
For Lily and Sosinhan, who had been unable to find a party, the appearance of Wendy and Gerold was the rain in a drought.
The four people walked towards the cave entrance.
“I remember when we used to go on adventures together. right?”
“I know. It’s been a really long time since we’ve been together like this. “Dad… how are you?”
“huh! After the exam, we went to a restaurant for a long time. “He’s making something special and delicious.”
“…Let’s just order and eat.”
“Ahaha! “Wendy cried after eating the food you made!”
“Don’t say that because it’s embarrassing.”
It was when the two girls were walking together, chatting away.
A cold voice came from behind them.
“After all, lowly things seem to stick together, don’t they?”
At that moment, Wendy’s bright expression hardened and Lily tilted her head and looked back.
The gathered test takers were splitting apart like the ebbing tide.
The person walking between them was a girl of similar age to Lily Wendy.
A luxurious dress and a cute appearance can be seen at a glance.
Her thick, wavy red hair reached down to her waist, and she wore a platinum and ruby circlet on her head.
“Well, it won’t be easy to find people who can match that lowly nature.”
The girl walked with an arrogant smile as if she were the center of the world.
“Who is he?”
A blood vessel sprouted on Lily’s forehead at the tone of the person who was openly arguing with her.
“…don’t mind. “I’ll take care of it.”
Wendy stopped Lily and stepped forward alone. She took the example of nobility before the girl who suddenly appeared.
The expression had suddenly become cold and arrogant, as if it had been covered with a layer of ice.
“Wendy Rainstorm meets Anna Strauss.”
“So you haven’t fallen yet?”
“Thank goodness I got lucky.”
“It looks like the luck ends here.”
The girl named Anna snorted and looked at Lily and Soshinhan behind Wendy.
To be exact, the white smart band they are wearing on their wrist.
“No matter how many people there are, isn’t the white band too much?”
“…….”
Anna turned her head arrogantly and looked at the test takers who followed her.
The number was close to a hundred.
She has already created a huge group as her force.
“How many people should I lend you?”
“…….”
On the other hand, behind Wendy there were only two people: a retired knight and a test taker wearing a white band who were considered the lowest class on the island.
The corner of Anna’s mouth twitched up.
‘As expected, this lowly thing is no match for me.’
Other test takers who were watching the confrontation began to mutter.
“Did you hear what I just said? “Anna Strauss.”
“You mean the daughter of the Strauss family? He is said to have received the emperor’s favor on the continent of Gaia…”
“He is a very big man.”
“The thing I’m wearing on my wrist is… it’s an orange band, of course.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I received a red band.”
Anna’s slender wrists were wrapped with orange bands.
Of the thousands of applicants, less than 100 received the orange band.
In other words, she was recognized for her top-level talent and potential even before entering school.
“wait for a sec. “That kid has an orange band?”
At that time, someone with good eyesight looked closely at Wendy’s wrist and saw an orange band slightly visible through the wide sleeves.
The murmur grew louder.
“There are two orange ones… Are they also from the same continent of Gaia?”
“Looking at his tone and actions, I think he’s a nobleman.”
“Are you from the continent of Gaia? “How on earth is this going on?”
The number of onlookers gradually increased as the strange confrontation unfolded.
Anna’s neck tightened as if she was enjoying being the center of attention.
‘The lowly things have eyes to see.’
I just felt like it went well.
Anna didn’t like this blue-haired girl who dared to accept the same band as her and pretend to be obedient, but with her eyes straight up.
Anna said, extending one hand gracefully.
“Wendy Rainstorm. “I grant you the honor of entering that cave with me.”
Anna was sure that Wendy Rainstorm would never be able to turn down this offer.
She is the daughter of the only duke in the empire, and at the same time, she is a wizard so talented that she is favored by His Majesty the Emperor.
On the other hand, that girl, the daughter of a ruined count family, disappeared for a while, but recently reappeared and was struggling to revive the ruined family.
Anna found that annoying.
‘His Majesty the Emperor admires them for having some talent, so they don’t even know their subject…’
The Emperor of the Empire liked talented children and regularly held banquets for them.
The seat next to the emperor at dinner parties has always been Anna’s.
However, recently, there was an opponent who was getting into a scary fight, and it was the blue-haired girl right in front of me.
Wendy Rainstorm.
The last survivor of the Rainstorm family, thought to be extinct.
‘I don’t like it.’
Even at the last dinner before departing for the WHA, the seat next to the emperor was still occupied by Anna.
But Wendy sat across from him.
A sense of crisis that I felt for the first time.
From then on, Wendy Rainstorm became a thorn in Anna Strauss’s eyes.
‘I’ll show you clearly this time. ‘You and I are on different levels.’
Anna planned to take Wendy with her from now on and clearly inform her of her location.
But,
“Thank you for your consideration. “But I already had a party with my friend.”
“…so?”
Wendy politely but clearly conveyed her refusal.
Anna couldn’t accept that rejection.
Naturally, my voice became fierce.
“Are you going to refuse my orders now? “A mere child of a count refuses to follow the duke’s orders?”
“…Are you threatening me with your family’s prestige?”
“then?”
Even though she may have been pushed back due to her family’s prestige, Wendy was not pushed back in terms of momentum.
‘He was someone I would bump into someday.’
From the beginning, I expected Wendy to bump into Anna at least once.
I didn’t know it would be now.
“Anna.”
Wendy lifted her slightly lowered head and straightened her back. There was a coldness in his voice like the cold snow of the north wind.
“Your Majesty said. “I remember you told us to compete fairly?”
“…Don’t bring up Your Majesty with that lowly mouth!”
“Isn’t it not the family that is lowly, but the mouth of someone who frequently acts and says lowly things?”
“How dare you….”
-Puhuaaaaaak!
The two girls simultaneously increased their magic power and their hair began to rise into the sky.
-Blah blah blah!
The two girls screamed as the floor they were standing on cracked and the air burst out. Candidates who were weak at the test hesitated and retreated.
Anna said, raising her eyes fiercely.
“I was going to correct your habit sometime. It’s a good thing. This is a place where battles are allowed between test takers. Let me make you realize your topic.”
“Then you will regret it, right?”
“Do you believe in that humble ability?”
The bodies of the two girls floated in the air, and the vortex created by magical power created a dusty wind.
Soshinhan’s complexion turned blue as he read the atmosphere going around.
‘This looks like a whale’s fight and a shrimp’s back explodes!’
That girl named Wendy seemed calm and kind only on the outside.
You’re trying to fight someone who has 100 subordinates behind you!
‘You have to stop it at all costs! If there’s a fight, we’re done!’
Behind Anna, over 100 candidates were ready to fight at any time. They will attack as soon as an order is given.
Slurp.
Here too, Gerold, a taciturn knight, drew his sword brilliantly and prepared himself, but it was only one person.
‘At least I’m dead…’
I don’t know if Lily is active here, but…
I glanced back and saw Lily scratching her cheek and muttering with a troubled expression.
“You shouldn’t use fireworks in a place with a lot of people… But I’m not good at controlling martial arts yet, so if I use it on people, it could really kill me… How can I punish them?
Don’t say such scary things so casually!
[(side story) How can I punish you? ]End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
